Galway City is participating in the EU NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Programme and has secured funding to carry out a NetZeroCities project focusing on energy efficiency in buildings.

Galway City is the only Irish City participating in the pilot programme, which supports European cities to test and implement innovative approaches, solutions and services to reduce carbon emissions and initiate transformational change. 

The Galway City NetZeroCities project aims to address the barriers associated with retrofitting homes and highlight the comfort, financial and health benefits of improving energy efficiency in the home, as well as the environmental benefits.

A baseline study carried out by Galway City Council found that residential buildings account for over 40% of carbon emissions in Galway City. Measures to reduce emissions from this sector are being prioritised by Galway City Council in their efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, as required by the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021.

As part of the Galway City NetZeroCities Project,

• A community hub will be established to provide information to households and guide them through their retrofitting journey.
• Research will be conducted on energy upgrade and retrofitting skills & training courses for contractors and measures will be developed to address any gaps in provision and/or uptake.
• A steering group will be established to address the challenges facing households in relation to retrofitting and to drive strategic change and innovation at a local, regional and national level.
• Galway City will participate in monitoring, evaluating and learning processes with other European cities to help build capacity within Galway City’s NetZeroCities Team. Galway City is twinned with Belfast City, as part of the EU NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Programme and is in a learning cluster with Istanbul, Cluj-Napoca and a consortium of Polish Cities (Krakow, Łódź, Rzeszów, Warsaw and Wrocław).

The Galway City NetZeroCities project partners are Galway City Council, Atlantic Technological University, Galway Energy Co-operative, North Western Regional Assembly and the University of Galway.

NetZeroCities is part of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme in support of  European Union’s Green Deal. Galway’s NetZeroCities project is funded through the EU NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Programme and will be delivered as part of Galway City Council’s Climate Action Plan. The project will run until May 2025.

For more information, contact Dr. Sharon Carroll, NetZeroCities Project Co-ordinator at sharon.carroll@galwaycity.ie.